In the past, a typical cotton candy machine was operable to heat sugar and to cast or spin molten sugar through centrifugal force in fiber or strand form into a tub where it was gathered on a stick or rolled paper tube for service and consumption. In order to carry out the heating and spinning function, such a typical cotton candy machine included a spinner head which defined a chamber for receiving raw sugar. Annular slotted bands surrounded the chamber and heater strips were disposed just inside the bands. The heater strips were connected to terminals which in turn were connected to annular electrical slip rings mounted for rotation with the spinner head. Electrical, spring-loaded brushes were mounted beneath the head for engaging the annular slip rings and conducting electricity to the heater strips as the head spun. The spinning head imparted a centrifugal force to raw sugar poured into the spinner head, forcing it outwardly against the heater strips. These melted the sugar before it was spun in strand form through the slotted bands. Preferably, the slotted bands were treated or coated for the purpose of electrically insulating them from the electrically energized heater strips. Such typical cotton candy machines are described in more detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,036,532; 5,145,687; 5,441,754; 5,498,144 and 4,872,821, expressly incorporated herein for background detail.
While such machines have worked well for years, they include several inherent structures and functions which, if eliminated, could reduce costs and improve operation. For example, such machines require the use of heater strips, slip rings, brushes and springs, and electrical connectors or terminals, not to mention the expensively treated bands, all of which are subject to wear and replacement or require insulation, cost and assembly expense. Moreover, it is appreciated that since these past typical units required electricity to be conducted into the spinner head, care must be taken with insulation and protection of the electrical terminals and conduits to avoid short circuits, shock, or other hazards. If liquid or wet sugar was accidentally used in such a machine, an electrical problem or accident may result. While improvements in the construction and design of these elements over the years have been useful and significant, the presence of electrical service in the spinner head still requires and involves the foregoing concerns.
In other aspects of prior cotton candy machines, the heat generated by the heater strips is controlled by the application of electricity to them. Preferably, the heat is controlled in a range hot enough to melt the sugar but not so hot as to burn it. It is now desirable to provide an improvement in the way heat is applied to melt the sugar so the heat can be controlled more precisely and more quickly and responsively than through the direct application of electric current to the heater strips.
Accordingly, it has been one objective of this invention to provide an improved cotton candy machine.
A further objective of the invention has been to provide an improved spinner head for a cotton candy machine.
A further objective of the invention has been to eliminate the electrical terminals and interconnections in the spinner head of a cotton candy machine.
A further objective of the invention has been to eliminate all electrical service in the spinner head of a cotton candy machine.
A further objective of the invention is to provide more precise and responsive heat control to the spinner head of a cotton candy machine.